U.S. President Donald Trump stressed the importance of India buying more American-made security equipment and moving toward a fair bilateral trading relationship in a phone call with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday,

WASHINGTON: United States President Donald Trump stressed the importance of India buying more American-made security equipment and moving toward a fair bilateral trading relationship in a phone call with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday (Jan 27),

US President Donald Trump and India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi have confirmed that they are committed to deepening the Quad partnership that includes Japan and Australia.

Immigration was another key topic of discussion, with Trump stating that India would take appropriate measures to repatriate its illegal immigrants from the US.

Mr Trump and Mr Modi enjoyed warm relations in the US president’s first term, but during his campaign for re-election Mr Trump called India a “very big abuser” on trade and vowed to use tariffs on global imports into the US to correct imbalances.

The White House said Trump and Modi discussed a range of regional issues, including security in the Indo-Pacific, the Middle East, and Europe.

U.S. President Donald Trump stressed the importance of India buying more American-made security equipment and moving toward a fair bilateral trading relationship in a phone call with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday,

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has met with his counterparts from Australia, India and Japan as the Trump administration kicks off its formal foreign policy engagements in discussions with the Indo-Pacific “Quad.

Both Modi and Trump emphasised their commitment to advance the "US-India strategic partnership and the Indo-Pacific Quad partnership, with India hosting Quad Leaders for the first time later this year.

President Trump emphasised the need for India to increase its purchase of American-made defence equipment and to move towards a more balanced trade relationship.

The United States, Australia, India and Japan recommitted to working together on Tuesday, after the first meeting of the China-focused "Quad" grouping's top diplomats since President Donald Trump returned to the White House.